Venetian blind ladder



Dec. 12, 1950 J. L. HUNTER ET AL VENETIAN BLIND LADDER Filed Dec. 20, 1948 3 Wm w. y WW m M m M a 0 J7 W v Patented Dec. 12, 1950 VENETIAN BLIND LADDER Joseph L. Hunter and Thomas Martin, Riverside, Calit, assignors to Hunter Douglas, Corpora tion, Riverside, Califl, a corporation of Delaware - ApplicationDecember 20, 1948, Serial No. 66,192..

. v 1 Our invention relates to Venetian blinds. and has. particular reference to the provision of a ladder construction for use with Venetian blinds tov be particularly employed with what is known as..r.emovable slats, thatis, blinds in which the slats, instead of having longitudinal openings for the cords extending through the center of the slat has cord openings formed as elongated notches extending to the edge of the slats to permit the slats readily removable without disassembling the entire blind as would otherwise be required.

. One of the diiiiculties which has been encounr tered in attempting tomake a blind having removable, slats using the notch instead of the ce ntral opening in the slat has been that of preventing the flexible cross bar of the ladder from becoming entangled with the slots, that is, so entering into the slot as to catch on to the slat particularly where the fabric ladder cross bar is of the normal or ordinary width, namely, approximately one-half or less than one-half the normal width of the vertical tapes forming the ladder.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device which may be used with ladder tapes, which are formed of such flexible material that thecross bars may become entangled with the slat notches, particularly where, the cross bars are narrow as compared with the width of the vertical tapes and in which the cross bars of the ladders will, by means of our invention, be prevented from falling into the opening of the slot and becoming entangled therein.

Another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character described in which an attachment is provided which may be readily placed upon each of the cross bars of flexible ladder tapes without interfering with the other functions of the ladder.

Another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the additional mechanism or attachment which is employed for the purpose of preventing the cross bar from becoming entangled in the notch of the ladder tape will be provided with means which will so co-act with the blind lifting and lowering cords as tohold the slats in place, irrespective of the angular position which the slat may assume in the opening and closing of the blind.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from a study of the following specifications, read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a typical Venetian blind embodying our invention in place in a window opening.

2' Claims. (01. hill-173).

Fig. 2 is .a more: detailed and enlarged perspective view of a portion of the Venetian blind shown in Fig. l, in which the slat is: indicated as lying substaritiallyflatr that is the position the slat would, assume when the blind B5. in.

open position. r

Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2- except that the parts are shown in'the. they will assume when the Venetian is closed, that is, when. the: ladder tapes are so operated as to substantially close the slats upon the other to. obscure light which. wouldoth erwise penetrate through the d Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view preheat the clips which may be employed in the practice of our invention. illustrated as ready to-be placed upon a portion of a crossbar of one of the: ladder tapes, and to be folded about the tape to secure the clip in place. 1

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional. view through the clip and crossbar after the clip hasbeen'secured in place. 1

Referring to the drawings, we; have illustrated in Fig. l a portion of a Venetian blind compris ing a suitable head rail. 1,, from-which extends a. pair of flexible vertical webs 3.1x.)v form. a portion of one of the slat supporting ladders oi the conventional blind,v which ladder, include also a plurality of cross. bars 4 extending between the vertical tapes 2 and 3 andupon which are supported a plurality of slats 5 in substantially uniformly spaced relation so that the combination acts as a Venetian blind and may be readily used for this purpose.

As will be understood by those skilled in this art, Venetian blind ladders are usually woven or otherwise secured to the vertical tapes to thereby provide a flexible joint between the ends of the cross bars and the vertical tapes permit.- ting the ready moving of the vertical tapes relative to each other as the slats are to be tilted between open and closed positions.

By referring particularly to Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 it will bev observed that each of the cross bars has been surrounded by a shell of substantially rigid material, such shell being constructed preferably in the form of a clip I of sheet metal which is preferably relatively thin but is of suflicient thickness and rigidity that when placed about the cross bar, that portion of the cross bar so surrounded will be substantially rigid.

It will also be observed that the clip extends substantially the full length of the cross bar. that is, to span the space between the twovertical tapes but not to extend along the. vertical 3 tapes and therefore the clip does not interfere with the flexibility of the joint between the ends of the cross bar and the vertical tapes.

While the particular material employed for surrounding the cross bar may be of any suitable character and shape such material may be constructed'in the form of a clip which may be bent completely about the cross bar 4, to cover both the upper and lower surfaces thereof to lend rigidity to the cross bar or the clip may be so constructed as to extend only partially around the cross bar, the essential feature of the invention being that the clip shall be of sufficient length and shall extend across a sufiicient area ofthe cross bar as to lend the necessary rigidity or stiffness thereto to prevent the cross bar from becoming entangled in the notch 6 of the slat 5.

We prefer and believe that it is of considerable importance that extensions be employed on the clips for the purpose of engaging the cords 9 employed to lift or lower the blind so that when the slats are tilted from their fully open position as shown in Fig. 2 to their fully closed position as shown in Fig. 3, the extensions each will engage the cords 9 and prevent the inadvertent escape of the slats from the cords while yet permitting the slats to be readily removed when such removal is desired.

As illustrated particularly in Fig. 4 the extensions each are preferably of semiconical shape so that a portion of the extension disposed toward the center of the cross bar will be relatively deep to adequately receive the cord 9 while the other end of the extension 8 tapers toward the flat surface of the cross bar and does not present any protuberance which might interfere with the ready tilting of the slats in the normal operation of the blind.

I While as illustrated the clip may be made of metal or other suitable material having suflicient rigidity to erform the functions herein described, we do not desire to be limited to any particular type of material for the clip, it being understood that our invention resides primarily in providing a reinforcement for the cross bars which renders them sufficiently rigid so as to not to become entangled with the notches of the slats, while at the same time leaving the slats free to be removed from'the blind assembly merely by 4 tilting them to disengage the cords from the notches.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of our invention we do not desire to be limited to any of the details illustrated or described herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a device for rendering the cross bars of Venetian blind ladders rigid against crumpling and entanglement in the open-end notches of removable Venetian blind slats through which the lift cord is passed, a sheet of substantially rigid but thin material disposed about the cross bars of said tapes, said sheet having a lateral extension at one end thereof extending across said notch and arched upwardly through the same, said extension being shaped to encompass said cord from one side when the slats are tilted to substantially closed position, and thereby confine said cord to said notch.

2. In a device for rendering the cross bars of conventional ladder tapes substantially rigid against crumpling and entanglement in the openend notches of removable Venetian blind slats through which the lift cord is passed, a clip formed of relatively thin but rigid material to be disposed about the flexible cross bars, said clip having at one end thereof and projecting laterally from one side thereof, a semiconical extension bridging said notch and arched upwardly through the same, said extension forming a pocket into which the cords of the Venetian blind may be received when the slats are tilted to substantially closed position, thereby confining said cord to said notch. I

JOSEPH L. HUNTER. THOMAS MARTIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 451,924 Fisher May 12, 1891 2,254,705 Morse Sept. 2, 1941 2,381,060 Kahn Aug. 7, 1945 2,433,529 Peterson et a1. Dec. 30, 1947 

